App reviews: Ruzzle, Vine

By Hayley Tsukayama, The Washington Post

Posted:
02/07/2013 10:13:58 AM PST

Updated:
02/07/2013 10:31:02 AM PST

(Screenshot/Vine.co)

Ruzzle

A good time for the word nerds.

Wordsmiths, this is your game. Similar to Boggle, Ruzzle gives two users the same grid of letters and challenges them to find words hidden in adjacent letters. Players connect words by sliding their fingers along the grid vertically, horizontally or diagonally. You can accumulate points by finding more words, finding longer words or using tiles with special values. The app has a somewhat limited vocabulary, however, so don't expect to gain points for words that are too obscure.

Users can choose to play with friends or with strangers — there is also a chat function so you can congratulate each other on a game well-played. Android and iPhone users can play against each other, as well, expanding your playing field considerably. Free, for iOS and Android devices.

Vine

What can you create in six seconds?

Vine, a new app from the Twitter-owned company of the same name, allows users to get their creativity flowing by making a few short films — really short. Vine lets users film for six seconds, though it offers some editorial control by letting them start and stop their recording. The time limit requires users to really distill what they're trying to capture. Some users seem to have taken to the app, creating fun, short animations and how-to videos. Others prove that even six seconds is long enough to be boring.

All films are posted publicly to a central feed, meaning that there are no privacy settings and no real way to screen videos for content, so you'll probably want to supervise before handing it off to the kids.

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The app would improve from privacy settings that allow users to only show videos to a select group of friends. But, all in all, it's a pretty fun exercise in using time wisely. Free, for iOS devices.